Good Enough
by Up in the Heights
Summary: There are few people in this world James Potter deems good enough for Teddy Lupin. And Samuel McLaggen is not one of them.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **_All canon characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling, not to me! I plan for this story to be pretty long, I haven't completely planned it out yet, I just thought I'd put the prologue out here to see how it's received and such. Comments, ratings, questions, and constructive criticism are always appreciated! _

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**Prologue**

For some unfathomable reason, James Potter found himself staring at clasped hands.

It seemed more like glaring, but he wasn't really considering the _way_ in which he was looking at them, only that he couldn't seem to draw his eyes away.

His own hands were absentmindedly wringing around an unopened chocolate frog box. They were his favorite candy, and the bowl his mother filled with them was usually empty by now due to his inability to resist the saccharine sweetness they possessed.

Today, however, he'd found his appetite for them to be temporarily quieted.

The hands his eyes were locked on were none other than that of Teddy Lupin's, one of them clasped loosely in the grip of one Samuel McLaggen.

He wasn't sure why exactly Teddy's unexpected guest had bothered him so much. After all, Lily was constantly bringing this week's boyfriend to these family functions, purposefully showing off her ability to capture any man's heart. She liked to say it was one of many benefits to being the only redhead among her immediate siblings, but James was rather certain it wasn't her hair that was attracting them.

Regardless, despite being his sister, Lily's inordinate amount of houseguests had never bothered him the way Teddy's one seemed to be now.

Currently, he was blaming it on the fact that it was _Samuel McLaggen._ Of all the people Teddy could bring to the first-of-summer family gathering, James couldn't believe he'd chosen _him._

Samuel McLaggen – "Call me Sammy!" he'd said when he'd introduced himself, which James had no intention of doing – had recently been promoted to a first string chaser of the Falmouth Falcons. He'd also recently been injured, which explained the lightweight wrist brace he wore on his free hand.

But the most important aspect, the one that irked James the most, was the fact that he'd most recently been voted _Witch Weekly_'s "Most Eligible Bachelor."

James didn't wonder why; his strong, hard jawline, piercing eyes, and short, ashy blonde hair falling into his eyes in an attractive mess. The handsomeness was there; James certainly couldn't deny that.

Even more infuriating was how exceedingly nice he was. One might expect a man with such advances to his ego to be cocky as hell, but for some reason, Samuel McLaggen had chosen to be painfully polite, almost shy.

He'd heard the story of how they met several times, considering every family member, namely the female ones, had been asking a million questions of the pair. How he'd fallen off his broom, how Teddy had been the Mediwizard at the game, how he'd asked him out for drinks as a thank-you. It was a perfectly charming story, but it wasn't one James had cared to hear.

He hadn't been able to escape it, however, considering he was supposed to be happy for his almost-brother. In some ways, he was. But this summer, one he had been excited for the same way he'd always been excited about his summers at home, was suddenly not looking like it was going to be the same as always.

Because suddenly he was realizing there was going to be an addition to their large circle of family that would be around for the summer. And judging from the excited way everybody was talking to the two of them – especially the star struck look on his mother's face – he was going to be alone in his annoyance of Samuel McLaggen's presence.

He continued staring at those hands, wishing there was some way for him to split them apart without being scolded for it. James was certain that those hands didn't belong together.

That was because there were very few people in this world James deemed good enough for Teddy Lupin.

And Samuel McLaggen was not one of them.


	2. Open to the Public

_**A/N: **This chapter's very short, and is still pretty introductory. They'll definitely get longer as they go. Thanks for reading! C__omments, ratings, questions, and constructive criticism are always appreciated!_

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"So. Did you meet him?"

One Rose Weasley plopped down on the bench next to him, her eyes trained on the figures gathered in a circle across the lawn. Her voice had a tone of curiousness, but also one of accusation. Rose was extremely perceptive, especially of James.

James rolled his eyes at the petite redhead. "Of course. I wouldn't want to miss out on the chance to meet this family's new golden boy," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. James hadn't meant to be funny, but Rose laughed anyway.

"What, you don't like him? I thought he was nice."

There was no surprise about her words. She had clearly already worked out his disdain for the other man, despite there not being a whole lot of reasons for it.

That was all because Rose knew him better than anyone. She was the cousin he got along best with, and somewhere along the line she'd become a sort of confidant for him. She usually made family gatherings much more enjoyable for him. Not that they weren't already, but during unpleasant ones, particularly like today, she was good to have around.

"Plus he's really fit, so that's an added bonus." She just _had_ to mention that, didn't she. James gave another obvious roll of his brown eyes.

She nudged him. "What, you don't think so?" She was teasing him, that much was obvious. But James cracked a smile anyway.

"Of course he is. The _Most Eligible Bachelor_ is always fit."

She sighed. "It's too bad he's gay."

He gave her a bewildered look. "And, you know, dating Teddy."

She laughed and nodded.

Just moments later, Aunt Molly emerged from the house; announcing dinner was ready to the yard full of people. And of course, no one was going to pass up her delicious cooking. Everyone began to migrate in her direction.

Rose smacked his leg.

"C'mon, idiot. Dinnertime."

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Forks had barely been set back down on the table, bellies being grabbed in fullness, when Teddy stood up and cleared his throat.

James's attention flicked right to him, as if it hadn't been there the entire meal. Teddy's normally dark turquoise hair generally changed colors when he ate. He'd once told him it was because he was so focused on eating that he didn't pay attention. James remembered it being a source of entertainment during meals when he was younger. Now it was more of a distraction so he didn't glare at the blonde man sitting next to him. But that wasn't the point.

It was clear that Teddy had an announcement, something not uncommon for these family gatherings. He remembered Fred had done the same thing when he'd been chosen as a prefect. Or when Victoire had stood to announce her engagement. And boy what an event _that_ had been.

Teddy smiled down at Samuel before he began talking. "So the Arrows have asked me to be on call for their summer training season," he began, which earned him a good amount of murmuring and congratulations among the family members.

He looked down at Sam again, and back up. "They have a pretty open-to-the-public training season, at least if you know someone. And you all know me, and Sam now," he continued, beaming at the whole of them. The murmuring moved quickly to excited, and James's eyes met Rose's. Aside from loving quidditch, the two of them also didn't have any plans outside of the ordinary for this summer. It was clear they weren't going to have to voice their desire to go to each other.

"So if any of you would like to come to the Appleby Arrows training camp for the majority of the summer, you're welcome to." Teddy gave everyone one final smile, and sat back down.

James gave him a look, one that Teddy returned. "Like I have to ask about you," he laughed, and James smiled.


End file.
